Actress Leah Remini and her entire family had been with the Church of Scientology for over 30 years, but she eventually decided to leave the church for the sake of her own daughter.
During an episode of Oprah's "Where Are They Now?" series, the actress recalled the moment when she realized it was time to leave the organization behind.
"I was working on a Scientology course one day. I was at one of these hotels in Florida and I saw my daughter swimming for the first time while I'm reading this Scientology thing. A tear came down my face," she said. "I was like, 'What am I doing?'"
Remini said people do not know the amount of dedication people put in to the organization – at the very least, they have to set aside three and a half hours minimum every day, seven days a week. And it really broke her heart knowing that she was "now doing the same thing to my daughter that my mother had conveyed to me... that what she was doing was more important."
Her decision to leave the organization caused a rift in her family, but the actress said she has no regrets.
"I'm learning there's a new world out here. There shouldn't be any kind of judgment toward somebody who has a belief system that is not yours," she said.
However, the Church of Scientology did not take her departure well. A representative even offered Us Weekly this statement last year: "It comes as no surprise that someone as self-absorbed as Leah Remini, with an insatiable craving for attention, would exploit her former faith as a publicity stunt by rewriting her history with it, including omitting that she was participating in a program to remain a Scientologist by her own choice, as she was on the verge of being expelled for her ethical lapses."
